He had his primary and secondary education in Malaysia but managed to attend university as his uncle was a rich tin miner.

[1] He attended St. Stephen's College in Stanley and Lingnan University in Hong Kong in 1941 whilst the Japanese invaded China.

[1][2] He later escaped with his fellow students from China after enduring the Japanese occupation for a few months by bribing bandits to take them across the border.

[2] In 2019, he released a book titled Memoirs of a Flying Tiger: The Story of a WWII Veteran and SIA Pioneer Pilot from the advice of George Yeo.

[8] In 2023, a short film called Flying Tigers based on his life was released and he was portrayed by Richie Koh.